This is for gahgirlie. If you're out there, thanks.
Kel rolled her eyes as she saw her best friend saunter jauntily towards her. "Keladry!" he called, voice merry. She sighed, burying her face in her hands. Why, oh why had she chosen him, of all people, to be her best friend? Really. She ignored the part of her mind that said he had chosen her, and that, furthermore, she enjoyed every minute of Neal's company, or near it. After all, she was supposed to be furious with the man right now. He had, after all, told Dom about her feelings for him. And while she was sitting right there, no less!
"You are a despicable person, Nealan. I shun you." She turned her back on him, willing herself to keep a clear face, even as a smile tugged at her lips.
Neal, being the insufferable moron that he was, merely laughed and threw his head around her shoulders. "Ah, Kel. My dear, little naïve Kel." He laughed again. She growled.
"I can't believe you did that, Nealan! What do you have to say for yourself?"
He glanced nervously at the sword in her hands, and began to hesitantly back away, cowed by her angry expression. "Uh….that I've already been punished?"
She giggled. "I knew there was a reason I loved Yuki," she stated, rather happy that her friend had gotten his 'just desserts.'
"Oh, you laugh now, but trust me, it's no laughing matter. I have to sleep on the couch Kel, the couch, until I get you and Dom together! It's just not fair!" He jutted out his bottom lip.
She laughed harder. "Oh, this is good. You deserve sleeping on the couch, for that. I hope you learned your-wait, what did you just say!" she burst out, finally comprehending his words. "Until you get your cousin and myself together! I don't think so, Meathead!" she adamantly exclaimed, eyes widening in shock.
Neal grinned happily at her. "Yes, I know! It's wonderful isn't it!" There was a moment's pause, in which she gaped at him, before he continued, "But it would help, you know, if you would stop running away every time you saw him. I mean, I know Dom doesn't have my charm and good looks, but you love the guy. You should, at least, be able to ignore his faults."
The lady knight rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. "Really, Neal. I don't run away from the man. You should grow up."
He raised a brow. "Should I really?" He then proceeded to glance behind her. "Oh, look, there comes my cousin now!"
With an "eep!", a sound rather unfitting of a lady knight, Kel jumped behind a practice dummy set up on the court. Neal laughed, and she, realizing what had happened, scowled. Coming out from behind the dummy, she growled at her friend, "Nealan, I can't believe you did that, you-" She, however, cut herself off upon seeing who else stood beside her best friend.
"Ah…Dom. Lovely to see you," she stated nervously, tugging on her vest as she searched for a possible exit.
"Yes, well. I would think it would be, too. However, you seem to have a different opinion, if your behavior as of late is anything to go by." His eyes sparkled merrily, taking pleasure from her discomfort.
She cursed him, even as she replied, voice weak, "My behavior? I don't know what you mean." Her eyes still frantically searched for a way out, and, as she scanned the room nervously, it came to her attention that, sometime while she had been busy trying to avoid Dom's searching gaze, her best friend had slipped from the room. She took a moment in her mind to curse her so-called best friend, along with his damnable cousin. Really, what was it with this family!
He laughed richly. "No? You've been avoiding my like the plague, Kel. You ran into the men's baths in an attempt to avoid me, for Mithros' sake!"
A blush rose to her cheeks as she recalled the incident, but she straightened. "I was….I mean…" she was unsure as of how to respond to that one, because really, there was no other way to describe it.
There were several moments of silence, and Kel glanced to her feet, noticing the dirt caked on the toe of her boot with disinterest.
Warm, callused fingers were placed under her chin, and she quickly brought her face up, startled, but still the hand lingered, brushing gently across her face and pushing back a lock of hair that had escaped the pony tail before falling limply back at the owner's side.
She met the startling blue gaze with her own confused hazel eyes, asking a question that she couldn't, wouldn't, voice.
"So, was there a reason you've been avoiding me?" he said, voice light, as he leaned against the wall. She wouldn't answer, and they both knew it, so he continued, "It wouldn't happen to be that little thing that Neal 'let slip' the other day, would it?"
He answered his own question as he pushed himself from the wall. "Of course it was. So now, the question is, why were you avoiding me? Was it because you were embarrassed, or was it because you didn't want to give me false hope?"
She didn't answer, just looked on, lost in his stunning gaze. He sighed. "Kel, I need some help here. Do you love me?"
She spoke finally. "Well, it all depends on why you want to know," the lady knight responded, raising a brow.
He laughed at her obstinate expression. "Well," he murmured, moving closer, "I suppose I want to know because I have interests of the same type."
She stared up at him, rather surprised. "So?" he prompted.
"Yes," was her only response before he captured her in a loving kiss.
From behind the crack in the door, Neal grinned. Oh, how his manipulations had paid off. And now, maybe he wouldn't be doomed to the couch for the following days.
Hah! 1,003 words, not including my notes! Most awesome! I'm proud…LOL. I really didn't like the end that much, but it's better than what I have been doing lately, so I suppose I should appreciate it. They are all a little out of character, unfortunately, but…well, I'm still having writer's block on Tamora Pierce. It's just not fair! I believe its because I'm so hung up on Harry Potter right now. Fanfiction, of course, because there is nothing better. LOL. There's just so many more stories, writers, and selections. There's a much broader area of writing, and, of course, it has the better pairings. Who couldn't love it?
Gahgirlie: If you are reading this, I wanted to say thank you for your review. I agreed totally with what you had said, and was very grateful for your honesty-everyone else just lied to me, in a misguided attempt of comfort. :D I'm glad someone values honesty enough to give me an frank response without coddling me, trying to shield from me what I already know. Unfortunately, when I attempted to thank you for it, you had neither an account on fanfiction, nor had you left an email address, so I had to result to posting something, in the hopes you read it. LOL. I hope you enjoyed it!
Always,
dreamerdoll